COMM 115 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Relational Dialectics
Document Summary
We relate to others to fulfill human needs. What we put into relationships that we could not retrieve if the relationship were to end. Whereas love is a feeling we can"t control, commitment is a decision. When people make commitment, they take responsibility for committing to invest in their. Believing in another"s reliability (that he ir she will do promised) and emotionally relying. Trust: on another to look out for our welfare and our relationship. Healthy relationships understand and are comfortable with [relational dialectics] which are opposing forces, or tensions, that are continuous and normal in relationships. Both autonomy and closeness are natural human needs. The challenge is to preserve individuality while also nurturing connection in a relationship. Self disclosure early in the relationship helps to establish intimacy. All of us like a certain amount of routine to provide security and predictability in our lives, but too much routine becomes boring, so we need the occasional new or novel.
